Nightmare Syndrome
by Jack of the Pelt
Summary: When the TARDIS lands near a seemingly abandoned town somewhere in America, the Doctor and his companions are compelled to investigate. But they soon come to regret their decision when they discover that fear could be the greatest enemy of them all.
1. Ghost Town

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Author's Note: My first try at horror, so please read and review to tell me if I'm any good at this sort of thing. Constructive criticism is welcome, but people who flame me will be completely ignored. This story is loosely based on the excellent PlayStation game _Silent Hill_ and its PS2 sequel. Featuring the fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry, this adventure is set between the TV stories _Revenge of the Cybermen_ and _Terror of the Zygons_. 

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Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC and is used without permission.

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Nightmare Syndrome

By Jack of the Pelt

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Chapter One

Ghost Town

It was late afternoon as a car drove down a road that led towards the American resort town of Highvale. Inside the vehicle was a man and his daughter. The man, whose name was Michael Brookes was talking to his child, Rosemary, or Rose, as she was more commonly know.

"Almost there!" he said cheerfully to her. When he got no reply he looked at his daughter and noticed the rather sullen expression she was wearing. "Hey, why the long face?"

"I've been having those nightmares again, dad," she replied.

Her father frowned. "The ones with-"

"The Mist Knights and the Drowned Queen?" she said, finishing his question for him. "Yeah, those ones." She shuddered slightly.

Michael sighed. His daughter had been having these dreams ever since Alice, her mother and his wife, had died four years ago. "Rose, try and forget those dreams and have a good time at Highvale." He turned and smiled at his daughter. "Let's say we go to that theme park, tomorrow? What do you think -"

"Dad, look out!" she cried, cutting him off.

Michael quickly turned his attention back towards the front of the car, seeing that there was someone standing in the middle of the road, a tall humanoid figure. But before he could properly take any details in, he jerked the steering wheel to the right, swerving off the road. He tried to guide the car back onto the tarmac, but he had lost control of the vehicle. His foot slammed down on the brake, however it was too late and the car slammed into a tree.

***

Some time later, a strange noise disturbed the silence of the surrounding area. The sound was a bizarre shrieking noise that increased in volume as a shape formed out of thin air, which finally coalesced into the shape of a police box from 1960's London. The noise ended with a thump when the box had completely solidified. This was the TARDIS, a time and space machine from the planet Gallifrey.

The door opened and a man poked his head out. He looked around, noticing that the surrounding area was enveloped in mist. "I say! It's very foggy out here," he called back into the blue box. He then stepped out and rubbed his hands together. "You can barely see past your nose!" The man's name was Harry Sullivan, and he was a medical officer in the British navy.

"Doctor, are you absolutely sure this Scotland?" asked an attractive brown haired girl, Sarah Jane Smith, as she followed Harry out of the TARDIS.

"Of course I'm sure!" said a voice from inside. The last occupant of the impossible box, the Doctor, walked out. His strange set of clothes included a fedora, which seemed to trying to keep the unruly mass of curly hair on his head, and a ridiculously long scarf that was wrapped several times around his neck. "When have you know me to be wrong?"

"On quite a few occasions, actually."

He ignored his companion's comment and looked about, a bemused expression on his face. "Oh, it isn't Scotland after all. In fact, I think we're in America." He shrugged. "Oh well, it is Earth, at any rate," he said, returning to his previous cheery mood. "One out of three isn't bad!"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "How did you know we were in America, Doctor?" he asked.

The Doctor shrugged modestly. "Well, we Time Lords have a special sense for these things." He suddenly pointed up the road. "But it was that road sign over there that really gave it away."

The sign in question said: WELCOME TO HIGHVALE, THE FRIENDLIEST TOWN IN THE USA! PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY.

"Doctor, Harry, look!" cried Sarah, diverting their attention. "There's a car over there! And it looks like it crashed!" She pointed down the road away from the tunnel.

"Good lord, there might be people injured!" said Harry with concern. "We better see if anyone needs help!" He hurried over; the Doctor and Sarah following close behind. When Sarah reached him he was kneeling over a prone body by the vehicle. "He's alive and not doesn't look too badly hurt," he said, answering her unasked question. "He must have opened the door after the crash, climbed out and fell unconscious." 

While Harry went though the procedure of helping the man, Sarah noticed that the Doctor had stopped some way back and was staring down the road to where there was a tunnel leading off into darkness. She walked back to him to see what was wrong. "What's the matter, Doctor?" she asked.

"Something's not right," replied the Doctor distantly. He turned to his friend. "Can't you feel it, Sarah?"

"Feel what?"

"Something… oh, never mind." He turned around to face her and broke into a broad smile. "Let's see how Harry is getting along with his patient shall we?" He walked up to his other companion, Sarah in tow.

***

Unknown to three time travellers, something watched them as they attended to the injured man, hiding itself in the cover of the nearby woods, the shadows shrouding it completely.

***

"How is he, Harry?" asked the Doctor as he reached his friend. The naval doctor had placed the unconscious man in the recovery position and was now kneeling beside him. They could now see him clearly, noticing he had sandy blonde hair and was fairly tall, perhaps just under six foot.

Harry looked up. "Oh, he'll be fine." Harry got to his feet and brushed his knees down. "He's breathing regularly and there are no bone fractures, just a slight bump on the back of his head. He must have hit the headrest quite hard to knock himself out."

There was a groan at their feet, and they all looked down. The man's eyes flicked open, taking in the three people standing over him. "W…Where am I?" he muttered.

Sarah was one to answer him. "You by a roadside near a town called Highvale, Mr…?"

"Brookes. Michael Brookes." He grimaced and put a hand to his forehead. "Ugh, it feels as though something's cracked my head open!"

"Well," Harry began, "you've had a pretty nasty knock on -"

"What about Rose? Where is she?" Michael said, cutting him off. 

"Rose?"

"My Daughter!" he cried, his tone becoming panicky. "She was in the car with me! Where is she?!"

"I'm afraid we only found you here, old chap," Harry told Michael.

"I've got to find her!" he climbed to his feet, but staggered and almost fell over.

"Be careful, you not exactly a hundred percent," Sarah warned, steadying him.

"What made you drive off the road Mr Brookes?" asked the Doctor suddenly.

"Huh?" Michael looked at him, dazed.

"What made you crash?" The Doctor grinned. Noticing the man blank stare, the Time Lord took a white paper bag from his pocket and offered it to him. "Perhaps a jelly baby will help you remember?"

Michael stared at him like he was insane, but he took a jelly baby, examined it for a second, then popped it into his mouth.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Doctor, I don't think -" she began.

"Somebody wearing some kind of armour," the man said suddenly, cutting her off. "He was really tall, at least seven foot tall and…" he trailed off, embarrassed.

"Go on," insisted the Doctor as he took a one of the sweets for himself before putting the bag away.

"I know this sounds stupid, but I swear he had really long arms. They went past his knees."

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a second and then, all of a sudden, marched off down the road to the tunnel. After a few strides, he stopped and turned around. "Well, are you coming?" He then went back to walking to the tunnel.

The three of them looked at each other and a few moments later started to follow the Time Lord.

***

After they had left, the figure that was lurking in the shadows of the wood emerged from behind a tree and approached the Doctor's time machine.

"A TARDIIISSS…" it hissed as it reached the blue box, running a claw across its surface.

***

"I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your names," said Michael as they emerged on the other side of the tunnel. "I'm so worried about my daughter."

"Well, that's understandable, Mr Brookes, I'm -" Sarah began.

"Please, just call me Michael," the man interrupted, smiling, albeit in somewhat of a strained fashion. "I hate people calling me Mr Brookes, it sounds so formal."

"Well, Michael, I'm Sarah Jane Smith, but you can call me Sarah." She gestured towards Harry. "This is Harry Sullivan."

The man offered his hand to Michael. "Delighted to meet you," Harry said.

Michael took it and gave him a firm handshake. "Hi," he replied, with another strained smile.

After they had finished Sarah inclined her head towards the figure just in front of them. "And that's the Doctor."

"Doctor…?"

"Just the Doctor," Sarah paused to think for a second. "I don't think he's actually told us his name."

By now they had entered the town proper and were surrounded by various buildings. "I say," said Harry, before the American could say anything else. "It looks as though the good Doctor has found something."

Up ahead the Doctor had stopped by the roadside and was looking at something that was lying in the road itself. "Sarah, Harry, Michael, don't come any closer," he warned.

Harry hurried up to him, doing the exact opposite of what the Doctor had told him to do. "What is it Doctor -" He stopped short as he saw what the Doctor was talking about. "Ah… I see,"

It was the mutilated body of what used to be a man. It looked like it had been torn to shreds, and when Sarah caught sight of the remains she turned away with a look of nausea on her face.

Michael's eyes widened in shock as saw the corpse. "Who the hell could have done _this_?"

"Not who, _what_," the Doctor walked up to the dead body and pointed at it. "Do you see? Those marks there were made by fangs and claws."

"Some kind of animal?" asked Harry as he took a look, intrigued despite himself.

"What kind animal could have done this?" said Michael, as he followed, still horrified. "A bear?"

While the three men were talking amongst themselves, Sarah saw something move in the corner of her eye to her right. She looked in that direction and saw someone walking swiftly away from the small group into the mist. "Doctor…" she said, trying to catch the Time Lord's attention, but failing.

"No, whatever it was smaller than a bear," The Doctor said in reply to Michael's question.

"Rose…" murmured Michael worriedly.

"Doctor!"

"Wait a minute, Sarah, I'll be with you in a moment!"

"Doctor! Oooh!" said Sarah, annoyed. "Why doesn't he ever listen to me?" she muttered under her breath. And without another word to her friends, she marched off into the mist after whoever it was.

***

"Odd, it looks as though he's been drained of blood as well," said the Doctor as he inspected the corpse.

"You're telling me a vampire done this?!" Michael asked, incredulous.

"Possibly," the Doctor replied in all seriousness.

Michael shook his head. "Bull-"

"I say Doctor, where's Sarah?" Harry interrupted, looking around for his fellow time traveller.

The Doctor looked up from examination of the body. "Sarah? She was right -" His face fell as he saw that there was no sign of her. "Oh, dear."

"Great," said Michael. He gestured in the vague direction of the dead man. "What about if she bumps into whatever freak of nature that had done this?"

"I sincerely hope not," muttered the Time Lord.

"I better go and look for the old girl," said Harry, running off into the surrounding mist.

"No, Harry! We don't want to split up!" the Doctor cried, attempting to stop his friend from wandering off, but it was too late. "Harry!" He turned to Michael. "Let's go, and stay close to me."

"Okay, boss," said Michael sarcastically, but the Doctor didn't seem to notice.

They went in the direction Harry had taken, but after several minutes of walking they found no sign of either of the Doctor's friends. But they found something else.

"What in god's name could have done this?" asked Michael.

They were staring into a chasm that had been made in the road. It was so deep and wide that they couldn't see the bottom or the other side.

"There are a number of possibilities," murmured the Doctor. "Natural shifting of tectonic plates, perhaps…?" He shook his head, as if to dislodge that particular line of thinking from his head. "No, that can't be it, it's too neat, and why would it be blocking one of the ways out of this town?"

His companion was only half-listening to him. "Doctor?" asked Michael.

"Yes?"

"Is it me, or is something big moving down there?"

"You noticed it too…" The Doctor removed his hat and scratched his head. "Hmm…"

"What is it?" asked Michael, curious.

"Something very wrong is happening here, Mr Brookes," replied the Doctor, "something very wrong indeed…"

"Y'know, Doctor," Michael said, turning away from the chasm to survey their surroundings. "Have noticed that we haven't seen a single person in this town y- HOLY SHIT!!!"

The Doctor span around at the man's exclamation to see a creature scuttling towards them out of the mist, using its long arms and it's short but powerful looking legs to move forward along the pavement. The thing was vaguely humanoid shaped, but that was where the resemblance ended. Its green-purple skin was stretched tightly across its body, making it look like a skeleton, while several thorn-like spikes emerged from its back. When it reached them, it stopped and stood up on its back legs, regarding them curiously, it's red eyes glowing balefully.

"Hello!" said the Doctor cheerily, extending a hand. "We'd be awfully grateful if you could tell us what's happened here and if you've seen -"

"Mmmeeaaattt!!!" it gurgled, cutting him off, salvia dripping from its maw. It lunged forward towards the Time Lord.

He jumped back, dodging the monster. The Doctor frowned. "I'm sorry, I only wanted to ask if you've -"

But the thing wasn't listening, as it had turned its attention to his companion, who was now the closest. It gave another scream and attempted to pounce on him.

"JESUS CHRIST!!!" cried Michael, the thing just missing him. But the creature turned with surprising speed and leapt towards the man, but his luck held out and it missed once more.

It was getting ready to attack again, but the Doctor called out. "Excuse me?" he said in a polite tone, grinning inanely, giving it a little wave as it turned around. "But wouldn't you rather eat me?" He looked at Michael. "I mean he's all skin and bone, so there won't be much to chew on will there? Wouldn't you prefer a nice tasty Time Lord? Lot's of vitamin C! Yum, yum!"

The creature looked blankly at him for a few seconds, but then charged towards him on all fours, growling fiercely.

"Doctor! Move!" yelled Michael. The monster was almost on him.

The Doctor just stood there, grinning.

As the creature pounced, the Time Lord moved out of the way at the last second, the beast hurtling into the abyss behind him with an inhuman shriek.

Michael rushed over to him. "What the hell was that?" he asked as he helped the Doctor to his feet.

The Doctor brushed himself down and picking up his hat, which he had dropped. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah!"

The Doctor frowned. "I have no idea," he replied.

"Oh," the man said, sounding disappointed. "Do you think that was the creature that killed that man?"

The Doctor nodded. "Possibly, but I think there must have been a small group of them to cause that kind of damage," he remarked casually.

Michael's gave a sigh. "This just gets better and better," he muttered to himself. But a troubled expression then appeared on his face. "I really hope to god that one of these things doesn't get my little girl. I'll never forgive myself if one does."

"Never give up hope!" the Doctor said cheerily. He then slapped Michael on the back, perhaps too hard as the man stumbled forward slightly. The Doctor didn't notice, however, and turned to leave. "Come on, we have to find Sarah and Harry, as well as your daughter!" He hurried off down the road, Michael following close behind him.

***

In an alleyway between two nearby buildings, something watched them leave. A few moments later it vanished into the shadows.

***

Sarah had been following the figure for several minutes now. "Excuse me!" she shouted when she knew she was within earshot of the figure.

The figure spun around. It was a girl just on the verge of adolescences, with sandy blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Sarah realized this could be Michael's missing daughter. "Rose!" she called. The girl's eyes widened in terror and she span around and fled. "Hey, wait a minute!" Sarah yelled as she gave chase.

The girl ran up the garden path of a nearby house and with a fearful glance back at the Sarah, she yanked open it's door and ran inside. When Sarah herself reached it she wondered why the girl had chosen this particular house rather then any of the others, as it didn't look any different from the rest. Steeling herself, Sarah went though the door.

Inside, she heard a thump from a room above and went to climb the stairs, but paused halfway up. Now that she had time to think about it, why had she followed the girl in the first place? The figure could have been anybody, even whoever had killed that man they had found earlier. Her actions had been completely irresponsible, running off without even telling anybody. And where was everybody? Apart from the girl, she hadn't seen a single soul in this town. It was all very disturbing. However now that she was this far she knew she had to continue.

Climbing the stairs Sarah noticed that a door on the left side of the landing was swinging slightly, so she guessed that was where the girl had gone and Sarah entered the room with some trepidation. It was a child's bedroom, perhaps for a young girl. The room was filled with teddy bears, china dolls and various other items that a female child would keep. Sarah noticed a movement over the top of the bed. "Rose?" she asked.

"Go away," came the reply.

Sarah walked around the other side of the bed to find the girl's hiding place. Rose was sitting with her knees up against her chin, her arms wrapped around her legs, staring at the woman with terrified eyes. Sarah crouched down to her height. "You're Rosemary, aren't you?" She asked in her most friendly tone.

The girl nodded. "Who're you?" she demanded, still wary.

"My names Sarah Jane Smith, but you can call me Sarah,"

"Are you English?"

Sarah nodded, smiling.

"Thought so," the girl said, "I knew because you had a funny accent."

"Come on, let's get you back to you father," Sarah said, holding out her hand. "He's really worried about you."

"Daddy?" said the girl, brightening slightly. "I want to see him." Rose looked like she was about to take the older woman's hand, but stopped short and looked around rapidly, clearly terrified. "He's coming!"

"Who's coming?" asked Sarah, puzzled at the girl's sudden panic.

"One of the Mist Knights!"

"The mist what?"

Rose jumped up and started to back away from her. "I have to get away from here!" the young girl almost shrieked, "If he catches us he'll take us to the Drowned Queen who lives in the lake!" Before Sarah could react, she had run out the door and slammed it shut behind her.

"Rose!" Sarah cried. She rushed over to the door, trying the handle, but to her dismay she found it was locked. As she took her hand away from it started to rattle as if someone was wrenching it violently from the other side. Could it really be one of the Mist Knights that Rose was talking about? If it was she had to find a place to hide! Sarah panicked and hurriedly looked around the room for somewhere to conceal herself. Her eyes alighted on a cupboard and she ran over to it, climbing in and shutting the door behind her.

Holding her breath, fearing that whatever was coming though the door would here her, she listened in fear as there was a click as the door unlocked and opened.

Sarah had never felt so frightened in her life. It was as if she was eight years old again, hiding from imaginary monsters that lived in the shadows of her parent's house.

She could hear a rhythmic hissing sound, as if something was breathing heavily. Then there were footsteps, the sound of metal scraping against metal and the creaking of wooden floorboards accompanying them as they moved around the room.

The footsteps stopped right in front of her hiding place.

The cupboard doors were flung open.

Sarah screamed.

To be continued…


	2. Piece Of Mind

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Author's Note: I have returned! I've finally managed to drag myself away from Final Fantasy X and finished the second chapter, as I thought I shouldn't leave my loyal fans in the dark (well, it was either that or the threat of physical violence I received from sheperdmoon if I didn't continue that got me going).

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Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC and is used without permission.

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Nightmare Syndrome

By Jack of the Pelt

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Chapter Two

Piece of Mind

The footsteps stopped right in front of her hiding place.

The cupboard doors were flung open.

Sarah screamed.

"I say, old girl, it's only me!" said the familiar figure of Harry standing there.

Sarah let out a great gasp of relief and slumped back into the cupboard, sliding down it's back. "Oh, Harry!" she said. "I thought it was someone else!"

Harry frowned in puzzlement. "Who did you think it was, Sarah?"

"I -" Sarah faltered, suddenly unable to say who she thought had come in the room. "I don't really know."

"Oh, well I'm here now," he said, helping her to her feet and out of the cupboard. "Why did you run off like that, anyway?" he inquired.

"I saw someone in the mist," replied the young woman as they left the room and walked down the stairs, "so I followed them, and as it turned out it was Michael's daughter. When I called out to her she ran off and I chased her into this room, I talked to her but she started to panic and she ran off again. I tried to follow her but the door was locked, then I thought something was trying to get into the room, so I hid in that cupboard. The rest you know."

They stopped in the hallway just before the front door. "But Sarah, why did you hide in the first place?" asked her friend.

"Well, just before she ran off Rose started to talk about something called the 'Mist Knights'. For some reason I thought you were one of them, so I hid." Sarah frowned. "Now that I think about it, it was quite irrational of me, but I felt so terrified."

"Rose was in the room with you? Where is she?"

"You didn't see that young girl run out of here?" said Sarah, puzzled. "She was about twelve and had blonde hair tied back in a ponytail."

Harry shook his head. "Sorry old girl, but you're the only person I've seen in this house."

"Oh," said Sarah in disappointment. "Ah well, she can't have gone far, we'd better try and find her."

"We'd better," Harry said in agreement as they exited the building though the doorway. "There's no telling what she'll run into in this place."

***

As the pair left the house they did not see the large figure watching them from the top of the stairs.

"Sssuch weak mindsss…" it hissed malevolently. "Sssso easily manipulated."

***

Having carefully avoiding several more of the strange creatures - who were more interested in the corpses they were tearing apart and devouring rather than the two of them - the Doctor and Michael had now found themselves at another one of the chasms on the other side of town. They had not, however, seen any sign of Sarah, Harry or Rose.

"Shit!" Michael cried in frustration. "This is useless! We're never going to find Rose at this rate!"

The Doctor grinned at him. "Never give up hope, Michael," he said 

"Wish I shared your optimism," muttered Michael, turning away and walking away from the chasm, the Doctor doing likewise.

_Daddy…_

Michael stopped. "Did you hear that?" he asked the Doctor when the Time Lord caught up with him.

"Hear what?" the Doctor inquired.

_Daddy, over here…_

"That…" the man murmured. Michael turned towards where the voice was coming from. Nearby was a large building - Highvale General Hospital according to a sign - to see a small figure standing at it's front doors, beckoning for him to come closer. "Tha…that's Rose!" cried Michael in joy and relief. He ran towards her, but the girl turned around and vanished though the door of the hospital. "No, Rose!" he cried. "Please don't run away!" He went to follow her inside.

"No, Michael don't -" the Doctor began to say, but it was too late, as the man had already disappeared inside the building. Shrugging his shoulders, the Time Lord hurried after him. "Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?" he muttered as he entered the hospital.

***

Something watched the two figures enter the hospital from an open window on the third floor, the curtains billowing in the slight breeze.

***

The Doctor found Michael in near darkness. He was standing in front of the reception desk looking around in panic. "I didn't see where she went!" he cried in despair when he turned and saw the Doctor. "She could have gone anywhere!"

"Panicking will get us nowhere, Michael," the Doctor told him.

"I know," he replied. "But I just keep thinking this all my fault."

The Doctor patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, we might as well start searching for your daughter, and we might even find something that will help solve this little conundrum!"

Michael nodded, and then looked around, as if noticing his surroundings for the first time. "You know, why is it so dark in here?" he questioned. "What the hell has happened to the lights?" he asked.

"Power Failure?" speculated the Doctor.

Before his companion could reply, the two of them looked up as the sound of creaking followed by heavy footsteps and a metallic scraping came from the floor above them.

The two of them stood staring at the ceiling for a few moments more after the sound had faded. "Whatever that was," said Michael, "that definitely wasn't Rose."

"I'm inclined to agree," replied the Doctor. He suddenly turned away from Michael and started walking towards the door to reception. "Let's have a look in here, shall we?" he said cheerfully, flinging the door open and striding though as if he owned the place. As he entered the room beyond he noticed the pool of blood near the desk, and the trail that led under the door to the next room, clearly showing that a body had been dragged though there. He went straight up to blood, examined it and finding that there was nothing of interest there, he then approached the door that lay opposite to the one they had come though. He was about to open it when he felt Michael's hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the man's face full of anguish.

"Doctor, what are the hell are you doing?" he hissed. "We have no idea what could have done that!" He gestured towards the pool of blood.

The Doctor paused, seemingly considering what had just said. "Good point," he replied. Then he opened the door and marched though into the room beyond. Michael cringed as if expecting some unspeakable horror to pounce on the Time Lord. But to his relief nothing of the sort happened, and as he followed the Doctor into the room Michael saw that it was a lounge, most probably for the hospital's doctors. The Doctor had walked over to the coffee table that was placed in the middle of the room and was surrounded by rather old looking couches. He had picked up a large leather bound book up off of the table and was slowly flicking though it.

"What's that?" Michael asked, curious.

"A journal of some kind, written by one of the doctors by the look of it." He sat down on one of the couches and began reading. "It seems to be about various patients."

As the Doctor rapidly flicked though the journal, Michael left him to it and started to examine the room. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the room, it had everything that you expected to find in this sort of place; a sink, cupboards, a refrigerator etc. He suddenly realised that he was hungry, so he opened the refrigerator, but was disappointed to find nothing inside, except for a month old open jar of mayonnaise. Closing the door, he stood up and opened the cupboard…

… And jumped back with gasp of fright as something fell out of the locker and landed on the floor with a loud clatter. He realised that the Doctor was now looking at him, probably wondering what had happened. Michael gave him an embarrassed grin, and the Doctor went back to the book he was reading. Michael looked at the object that had fallen to floor.

It was a pump action shotgun. He picked it up and checked that it was loaded, and found that it was. _Lucky this didn't go off_, he thought, _it might of blown my feet off! Might come in handy though_. He looked in the locker to see if there was any more ammo for the weapon in the cupboard and found that there were two more boxes of shells. He picked them up and placed them in his jacket pocket.

"Hello, this looks interesting!" the Doctor said suddenly. Michael turned towards him, and the Time Lord began to read a paragraph. "'Not only have Kevin's delusions increased in regulatory, but he has now taken to mutilate parts of his body such as carving strange shapes onto his arms when unsupervised. He claims he is doing this so the 'Mist Knights' can take him to see the 'Drowned Queen' and that this woman can turn him into -'" the Doctor stopped.

"Go on," prompted Michael, intrigued.

"I can't," he replied. "That's it." The Time Lord looked back down at the book in his hands. "It looks as though the psychiatrist was interrupted before he could finish this." The Doctor looked him in eye, a grim expression on his face. "And quite violently too - this page has been stained with blood…"

Michael frowned. "The 'Mist Knight' and the 'Drowned Queen'…" he muttered to himself, but then he shook his head. "No, it's got to be a coincidence."

"What's that?" inquired the Doctor, curious, leaning forward in the chair.

"Well -" Michael began, but was interrupted by a creak. They both looked up as the far door - the one opposite the one they had come though - opened. Michael raised the shotgun just in case it was something dangerous.

A dishevelled figure appeared in the doorway. His long blonde hair looked as though it hadn't been washed for a long time and his clothes were absolutely filthy, covered in brown stains which looked like - Michael suppressed a slight shiver - dried blood. He noticed with some concern that he had a very large gun in one of his hands.

The Doctor shot up from his chair. "Hello!" he said, starting to move towards the newcomer. "I'm the Doctor and this is my new friend -"

"Get the hell away from me!" he cried, cutting him off and bringing the gun up. Michael covered him with his own weapon, but the man didn't seem to notice.

The Doctor stopped and raised his hands, smiling in what he hoped was a calming fashion. "Please calm down," he said in soothing tones, starting to slowly walk towards him. "I assure you we're quite harmless."

"I don't care! I just wanna get outta this place!" He waved the gun angrily at them once more. "Just stay the fuck away from me, man! Don't try to follow me!" He turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Jesus," said Michael, staring at the closed door. "Who the hell was that weirdo?"

"That 'weirdo', as you so eloquently put it, Mr Brookes," replied the Doctor, "was most probably Kevin, the young man mentioned in the journal I was reading."

"How did you know that?" the man asked.

"Did you notice his arms?"

Michael shook his head. "I was too busy looking at that gun!"

"Those shapes he had carved onto arms were symbols of some kind." The Doctor frowned. "I swear I've seen them somewhere before…"

"Jesus, I hope Rose doesn't run into that psycho!" Michael said, agitated. "We have to go look for her!" Michael was about too leave the room when the Doctor grabbed his arm. He stopped, surprised by the man's strength.

"Don't panic," the Doctor said calmly. "Kevin said he was leaving, so I doubt Rose will run into him.

"But we have to find her!!!" Michael almost screamed.

"We will, we will," the Doctor replied, holding up a hand in a similar gesture to the one he had used on Kevin. "but we also have to find out what is going on in this town as well."

"That's easy for you to say," Michael muttered bitterly.

But the Doctor wasn't listening to him, as he had noticed something on the table and was walking over to retrieve it.

It was an A4 piece of paper that had been folded in half. The Doctor opened it and read it out loud; "'Doctor Davies, I left the package in room 6 on the third floor like you asked me to, Brian.'"

"'Package'?" asked Michael.

The Doctor grinned. "Intriguing, isn't it? Lets go and take a look!" he went over to the door Kevin had come though.

"Doctor!" Michael hissed. "What about that psycho?"

"Kevin? Oh, he should be gone now." He was about to open the door, when he stopped and turned back to Michael. "I almost forgot, what was the coincidence you mentioned earlier?"

"Uh, well, it's just my daughter Rose was having dreams about a Mist Knight and a Drowned Queen."

"Interesting…" the Doctor turned back to the door and opened it.

"Hey Doctor, let me go first," Michael said. "There's no telling what we might run into in this palace; I should really take the lead; I've have this after all." He patted the shotgun.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, allowing Michael to go first. "Hmm, I wonder how Sarah and Harry are doing?" he murmured to himself worriedly as they left the room.

***

"I tell you we've been going around in circles!" said Sarah to Harry, throwing up her hands in exasperation. She and her friend had been walking for at least an hour now and they had still found no sign of either the Doctor, Michael or Rose. At one point Sarah thought she saw something moving in the mist, but dismissed it as a figment of her imagination.

"Really, old girl?" replied Harry, all innocence. "I hadn't noticed."

"You see that shop over there?" she asked him, pointing a finger towards a nearby convenience store.

Harry nodded.

"I'm absolutely certain this is the third time we've walked passed it! How are we supposed to find the Doctor at this rate?" When she received no reply from her friend, she turned back towards where she thought Harry was and discovered that he was gone. "Harry? Where did you go?" she cried.

"Over here Sarah!" he called, as his head appeared from the entrance of a nearby alley that they had just passed. "I thought I saw the Doctor down here, so I'm going to take a look." He vanished back around the corner.

"No, Harry come back!" she yelled, running up to the alley. "Harry?" She peered down the passageway, but there was no sign of her friend, or even the other end. Cautiously, she started to make her way down.

She shivered. Was it her imagination or was it getting colder and darker the further she walked? And what were the red stains on the walls? Could it be… blood? No, it had to be graffiti. She hoped.

Sarah practically jumped back as she heard a blood curdling scream that came from the darkness at the other end of the alley. "Oh my god! Harry!" she cried, controlling her fear and running towards the source of the sound. Sarah stopped when she could just make out a wire fence in the gloom just ahead of her, and tried to regain her composure. After a while, when rationality final took hold of her again, she peered down the alley into the darkness. She could just make out what looked like someone sitting in a chair in front of the fence. As she approached it, she could now see that the figure was sitting in a wheel chair and was covered in a white sheet stained with red. She nervously reached forward and pulled the white cloth away.

It was Harry. His dead eyes stared up at her.

Unable to even scream, Sarah backed away from him shaking her head, close to tears with her eyes full of terror.

She backed into something solid, and she span around.

When she saw what was there, she finally found her voice to scream.

***

On their way to room 6 on the third floor of the hospital, the Doctor and Michael had checked each and every room they could, hoping to find any sign of Rose, but all they contained were smashed furniture and, on a few occasions, a dead body. Michael didn't want to take a very close look at those, but the Doctor examined them anyway. The Time Lord told him that they had either been killed by having their throats or heads crushed, or by something being forced trough their chests. He had asked the Doctor if Kevin could have murdered them, but he just shook his head and said that whatever had done this had not used a weapon and would have had to be incredibly strong. Michael shivered.

They had finally reached room 6 and the door opened with a loud creak that made Michael wince. He and the Doctor stepped into the room beyond and saw that it was almost empty except for a bed just under the window, and on it was a large white box. The Doctor walked up to it and picked it up to find it was sealed with tape. He placed it back on the bed and started to rummage around in his pockets.

"You don't happen to have anything sharp, do you?" he asked Michael as the man joined him. "Ah this will do!" the Doctor cried out in triumph before his companion could reply, and he pulled out a Swiss army knife. He then set about cutting the box open and then removed the lid. When it was off they both looked inside and found that it contained several books and various other paraphernalia.

The Doctor took what looked like a sealed envelope from the top and opened it with his knife. He placed the knife back in his pocket and started to read the letter. "'Dear Jonathan, here is all the information I could find on the disappearance of the Cantrell twins in 1892, and I hope you find it useful in your research. If you need anymore help come and see me at the museum. Your friend, Justin Mader."

"The _Cantrell_ twins?!" exclaimed Michael once the Doctor had finished. "That was wife's maiden name! That _can't _be a coincidence!"

"Two in one day? No, most defiantly not…"the Doctor murmured. "Let's see what else we can find in here." He put the letter in his pocket and took a tatty paperback from the box. The front cover read _The (Mis)Trial of Maynard Chancellor_ showed a very old picture of a rather ugly man. He began to read; "'Maynard Chancellor was an old hermit who lived -"

"Is there anything on those twins?" interrupted Michael impatiently.

The Doctor frowned and flicked a few pages into the book. "Ah, here we are, the Cantrell twins…" He began to read. "'The two seventeen year old Cantrell twins vanished in the woods next to Velial Lake - which was just to the north of the town - on the 14th August 1892, and a huge search was organised the next day, but was unsuccessful in finding them. Laura, however, was found alive seven days later on the 21st and was covered in cuts and bruises. She was dazed and confused and had no idea where she had been, but as she had been found close to Chancellor's cabin, so almost all of the population of Highvale blamed the hermit for the twins disappearance and he was arrested the following day. Anna was never found, but most of the residents of Highvale at that time believed that Maynard murdered her and hid the body, and it was for this alleged crime he was eventually sentenced to death for.'" The Doctor closed the book and placed it back in the box. "I think I'm starting to understand what's going on," he said to no one in particular as he stared out of the window.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Michael.

"I think we should pay a visit to the Museum." replied the Doctor. "There might just be some more clues to what's going on here."

"But what about Rose?!"

"I don't think she's still -"

But before the Doctor could continue, there was a loud bang behind them as the door slammed shut, and they both spun around. Michael's jaw dropped in total horror when he saw what was standing there.

The creature could only be described as some kind of warped medieval knight, tall and thin, and clad head to foot in spiked armour that looked as though it was made from black iron and crimson leather, two huge horns jutting out from the sides of its head, making it looked even taller than it's already impressive height. Only its forearms were uncovered, leaving green-purple skin exposed. When he actually saw how long the creature's arms were, Michael realised that this must have been the thing that had made him drive off the road and crash his car. "What in hell's name is that?!" he said in disbelief, staring at the monstrous demon that must have come from the very depths of hell itself.

Before the Doctor could reply, however, the creature was crossing the distance between them with a speed that belied it's large size and apparent heaviness, letting out a deafening screech as it did so.

Panicking, Michael blasted it with the shotgun, making him stagger back with the recoil.

The creature, however, didn't even seem fazed and had now reached them. It easily swatted the man away with one of its massive gauntleted fists while grabbing the Doctor round the throat with the other, lifting him clear off of the ground.

"Die, Time Lord," it growled in a harsh metallic voice, the Time Lord struggling as it slowly squeezed his throat.

To be continued…


	3. Darkness Falling

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Author's Note: Chapter Three is finally up and it's the longest one yet! Although you can blame Shadow Hearts for the lateness of this update this time around. Anyway, thanks go to Holli, who was the only person to review the previous chapter.

****

Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC and is used without permission.

****

Nightmare Syndrome

By Jack of the Pelt

****

Chapter Three

Darkness Falling

"So, what do we do now?" asked Michael.

"I think we should pay a visit to the museum." replied the Doctor. "There might just be some more clues to what's going on here."

"But what about Rose?!"

"I don't think she's still -"

But before the Doctor could continue, there was a loud bang behind them as the door slammed shut, and they both spun around. Michael's jaw dropped in total horror when he saw what was standing there.

The creature could only be described as some kind of warped medieval knight, tall and thin, and clad head to foot in spiked armour that looked as though it was made from black iron and crimson leather, two huge horns jutting out from the sides of its head, making it looked even taller than it's already impressive height. Only its forearms were uncovered, leaving green-purple skin exposed. When he actually saw how long the creature's arms were, Michael realised that this must have been the thing that had made him drive off the road and crash his car. "What in hell's name is that?!" he said in disbelief, staring at the monstrous demon that must have come from the very depths of hell itself.

Before the Doctor could reply, however, the creature was crossing the distance between them with a speed that belied it's large size and apparent heaviness, letting out a deafening screech as it did so.

Panicking, Michael blasted it with the shotgun, making him stagger back with the recoil.

The creature, however, didn't even seem fazed and had now reached them. It easily swatted the man away with one of its massive gauntleted fists while grabbing the Doctor round the throat with the other, lifting him clear off of the ground.

"Die, Time Lord," it growled in a harsh metallic voice, the Time Lord struggling as it slowly squeezed his throat.

"YAAAHHH!!!" cried Michael as he leapt onto the thing's back, and he started hammering the back of it's head with one hand while the other was wrapped around it's neck. It staggered forward a few steps having been put off balance by his sudden attack. It let go of the Doctor, who collapsed to the floor in a pile at the monster's feet.

Suddenly, the creature swung it's body around violently, making Michael lose his on it. He landed in a heap in one of the corners of room, dazed, but unhurt. He sat up and shook his head, as if the dizziness he felt would go away if he did so, but then he noticed that the monster was looking straight at him "Kill you first, ape!" the creature snarled, as it snatched a long rod-like object from it's waist. There was a click and the rod extended to about three times it's original length, a sharp spear point now at one end.

Michael stared at the weapon for a few seconds, and even though the monster's face was covered by a helmet, he was pretty sure it had a nasty smile upon it's face. If it had one, that is. "Oh, shit," he muttered as the beast started to walk slowly towards him. He could now see that the creature looked less primitive now; wires and pipes snaked out from underneath it's armour, sometimes going back underneath it's protective covering, sometimes actually going _into _it's flesh. Michael tore his gaze away from the monster and climbed to his feet, looking desperately around for a means of escape, but found none. His salvation, however, came from a most unexpected source.

"Excuse me?" asked a voice behind it, and the thing spun around, growling. Michael could see that the Doctor was now on his feet and holding a slender metallic object in his hand, pointing it at the monster. "This is the sonic screwdriver, it's a sort of Gallifreyan Swiss army knife if you were wondering, and if I press _this_," he pressed his thumb down on the device, and the creature dropped the spear, falling to it's knees. It grabbed the sides of it's head and gave out the most disturbing noise Michael had ever heard, like nails going down a blackboard mixed with a dog crying out in pain.

Still pointing the device at the monster, the Doctor ran pass it and helped Michael to stand. "Quick, let's go!" he said as they ran out of the door, the Doctor half dragging Michael with him. "I don't know how long the sonic screwdriver can keep this up!"

They charged down the corridor as fast as their legs could carry them, running down the stairs and finally bursting out of the hospital's front doors, both of them almost skidding to a halt. Michael tried to catch his breath, but somehow the Doctor seemed to be unaffected. Suddenly, with a loud bang, the sonic screwdriver exploded and the Doctor dropped it to the floor, crying out in pain and then sucking his fingers. "Oh dear," he said sadly. "I think I better make a new one when I get back to the TARDIS."

Michael looked around quickly, realizing how dark it was outside. "Jesus," he gasped. "It's got dark quick out here!"

"Indeed," the Doctor agreed, nodding, the torch once again in his hand. "Night must have fallen while we were in here." He looked behind himself, back into the hospital. "We'd better go or that creature might catch up with us." He then hurried off down the street, not bothering to see if Michael was following.

"Wait for me then," Michael muttered sullenly as he went to catch up with his companion.

***

__

Report, Captain.

Your Darkness, I have visual confirmation that the target is indeed a Time Lord.

Did you attempt to eliminate him?

Yes, my Queen. Although I regret to inform you that I have failed in my mission. I will now receive any punishment you deem appropriate.

There will be no punishment. The Time Lords are a wily species and very difficult to catch. How did he escape?

He used some type of sonic device to subdue me. What are my orders?

You will follow him, and see if there are any more of his people present. If there are, observe from a safe distance. If not, then destroy him. Either way report back to me.

Orders received and understood, my Queen.

***

"Doctor?" asked Michael as they rushed down the street in near darkness, with only the Doctor's torch lighting their way.

"Hmmm?" he replied.

"I have two questions for you," Michael said. "One, what was that thing, and two, what did you do to it?"

"Well, the answer to your first question is I don't really know, but I do have my suspicions, while secondly I somehow knew that frequency was painful for it, but the odd thing is don't know how I knew that either."

"What?"

The Doctor shook his head. "It's as if somebody told me what to do -" He suddenly stopped in his tracks with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Yes, maybe someone did…"

Michael halted a few steps in front of him and turned to the Time Lord. "Just what are you trying to say?" he said.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," He started walking again, and Michael did likewise. They both walked in silence for a while. "Ah! Here we are!"

"Hey, Doc?"

"Yes?"

"How did you know that this place was here?" Michael laughed. "More voices in your head?"

"No," the Doctor replied, and he pulled the letter he had found from his pocket. "This has a map with directions to the museum drawn on the bottom." He then, replacing the letter back in his pocket at the same time, marched up to the door and entered the building after opening it.

"Obviously," muttered Michael as he followed him inside.

***

They soon found what they wanted on the second floor of the museum. A small section that was devoted to the seemingly infamous Maynard Chancellor and his trial, and they were now examining a map displaying the location of his hut by the lake.

"That's where we want to go," the Doctor said, pointing at the symbol that represented the hut.

"Why there?" queried Michael.

"Because I have a feeling we'll find out exactly what's going on there."

"Well, let's go then!"

The Doctor shook his head. "Wait a moment, Michael, I just want to have look at the history of the surrounding area."

Michael sighed. "Okay, but please make it quick," he said. "We might find Rose there."

The Doctor had already wandered off in a random direction. "Yes, I think we will, and probably Sarah and Harry too." He stopped and started to read a plaque by an exhibit.

Michael, less interested in what the museum contained, wondered over to a nearby window, staring mournfully out. He had been trying to keep calm, but he was sick with worry. What if he couldn't find Rose? He would never, ever forgive himself if he didn't, and neither would -

"Why do you think they call it Velial Lake?" the Doctor called suddenly, braking him out of his reverie.

Michael looked in the Doctor's direction. "I don't know," he paused, thinking for a moment. "Perhaps it's a Native American name?" he said after awhile.

"No, I don't think so; according to these exhibits no Native American tribes have ever lived in the area," The Doctor said. "But does sound quite familiar for some reason…"

"Well, you've probably heard it before somewhere" Michael said. He then turned back to the window - and his eyes widened in terror. "Doctor," he said, calling the Time Lord over to the window. "I think you better take a look at this."

"What is it?" the Doctor said as he walked over to join him.

"I think we have company!"

Outside they could see hundreds of red eyes glowing balefully back at them. "Oh dear," murmured the Doctor simply.

"Are they what I think they are?"

The Doctor nodded. "Our little skeletal friends? Yes, I very much think they are." He spun around and started to move a heavy looking cabinet against the door. "Quick, help me with this."

Michael complied, and soon they had the cabinet in front of the door. "Do you think that will keep them out?" he asked.

"No, but it will give us time to think of a more permanent solution."

"What got those things so active all of a sudden?"

"Perhaps they've run out of food, or maybe -"

The Doctor never finished the sentence. There was a banging coming from behind the door they had barricaded. "Open the door, Time Lord! OPEN IT NOW!" roared a voice from the other side.

"Or that?" finished Michael for him.

The Doctor nodded again. "Indeed," he replied.

"It's that guy in armour, isn't it? He's controlling those things outside and leaving them out there to make sure we don't escape?"

"Most defiantly," the Doctor agreed.

Michael became aware of a loud hum that seemed to be steadily growing in volume. "What's that?" he asked, worried.

The Doctor didn't answer, but instead crouched down behind an old oak chest and gestured for him to do likewise. It was large enough for anyone crouching behind it to be hidden from anyone standing in the doorway.

There was a large explosion and the cabinet and the door behind it were thrown across the room, debris flying everywhere. A few moments later the demon they had encountered earlier stepped into the room. "I know you are here, Time Lord!" it shrieked in its metallic voice. "Ssssshow yourself!"

"Why should I?" the Doctor's voice shouted back at him seemly from the other side of the room. "You're going to kill me anyway!"

The monster chuckled. "I can make it quick and painless for you or sssslow and agonizing! The choice is yoursssss!" They heard it's footsteps as it stalked over to were the Doctor's voice had come from.

"How'd you do that?" asked Michael in amazement.

The Doctor grinned. "Simple," he replied, beaming. "I just threw my voice."

Michael risked a quick glance over the top of the chest. When he saw it, he suddenly realised that this creature was different to the one they had encounter back at the hospital; it's armour was less extravagant and the horns on its head were smaller. Not that this made much of a difference, this one was still trying to kill them.

"Don't you have another one of those screwdriver thingies?" he whispered to the Doctor.

"Unfortunately not," he said. "But I do have an idea and I'll need your help…"

"What do I have to do?" Michael whispered eagerly.

"I'm going to cause a distraction, and when I do run behind that display over there," he pointed towards the display, which was directly behind the monster, "and when I give the signal, push it over."

Michael nodded. "Gotcha," he said.

Without warning the Doctor sprang out from behind the chest. "Excuse me, over here!" he cried.

The creature swung around. "DIE!!!" it growled, and a large metal tube emerged out of it's wrist. It pointed it at the Doctor, and a bolt of purple energy leapt from the tip. The Doctor, however, quickly moved out of the way and the bolt hit the display that had been behind him and it burst into flames.

The Doctor had by now ran around the thing so it's back was now facing the chest. As the thing prepared to fire again, He ran behind the display the Doctor had pointed out.

"Now, Michael!" cried the Doctor as he jumped behind another display case, dodging another bolt.

Using all his might, Michael pushed the display over. With an almighty crash, the cabinet fell on top of the creature, pinning it to the ground. As it made an unearthly screeching sound, it's limbs flailing, the Doctor ran over to Michael and, grabbing his arm, dragged him over to the doorway.

They both stopped at the threshold of the door and stopped, realising that the creature's scream had changed in pitch and was now more of a wail. There was now a shrieking and clattering noise coming from the floor below, and they looked at each other, worried.

"He's calling reinforcements, isn't he?" said Michael.

"I'm very much afraid he is," responded the Doctor. Both of them turned around, looking for another way out, but by now the room was slowly being consumed in flames. "Quick, grab that rope over there!" The Doctor pointed at a long rope that was coiled by a display of a small boat.

Michael did so, his eyes watering from the smoke, while the Doctor ran over to a window and heaved it open as it groaned in protest. Michael had already tied the rope around the base of the nearest display when the Time Lord had finished.

"I think that display looks heavy enough to support our wait," he said to the Doctor. The Time Lord nodded in agreement and Michael threw the rope out of the window. "Who's first?" he asked.

"After you," offered the Doctor. They both knew that neither inside or out side was particular safe, but at least they weren't trapped when they were outside.

Michael nodded and climbed out of the window and down the rope while the Doctor watched. When he had reached the bottom, the Doctor climbed out the window himself, but stopped when the monster underneath the cabinet spoke.

"You may have defeated me, Time Lord!" screamed the creature. "But there are many more of usssss! You are only delaying the inevitable!"

The Doctor said nothing and climbed down the rope. The last thing he saw were the skeletal creatures flooding into the room, only to be consumed by the rapidly spreading fire.

***

"Anybody home?" asked the Doctor as he knocked on the door of Maynard Chancellor's hut. He and Michael had reached the small shack by the lake after a short walk. They could still see the museum, still burning brightly. "Obviously not," he muttered as he went to open the door when he received no reply.

Michael, who was standing just behind him, rolled his eyes. "Like you were expecting a reply!"

The Doctor turned to him. "Well, it never hurts to be polite," he said with a grin. "Let's go inside." And with that he opened the door and walked into the hut, Michael close behind.

Inside it was almost empty, except for a bed up against the wall opposite, where a small figure lay curled up on the bed.

"ROSE!" Michael shouted in joy, hurrying over to where the girl lay. He shook her gently by the shoulders. "Rose, wake up, please."

"The girl opened her eyes. "Mmmm?" she asked sleepily, opening her eyes, which widened happily when she saw who it was. "Dad? DAD!" she flung her arms around her father and gave him a crushing hug.

Michael hugged her back. "Oh, Rose! I thought I'd never find you!" he said with evident relief.

"Dad, I had a really horrible dream," she said. "I was in a town and it was all dark and there were all monsters there. You were looking for me and I met this woman who was English -" she stopped when she noticed the Doctor. "Who's that?" she asked.

Michael looked back at the Time Lord, who gave small wave and smiled at Rose. "Hello!" he said cheerfully.

"That's the Doctor," explained Michael. "He helped me find you."

Rose smiled back at him. "Hi," she said. "Thank you for helping my dad to find me."

"He was in my dream too," she said. Rose looked back at her father. "I don't like this place, dad, I want to go home."

"Yeah, me too," he said, "Come on, let's go." He took her hand and lead her outside, the Doctor following him for a change.

"No way man!" shouted a voice when all three of them were had left the building.

The small group turned around to see a familiar figure emerge from the darkness. It was Kevin, the young man from the hospital and still had the gun from the first meeting.

"I knew I should have killed you the first chance I got!" he shouted again. "And you've got that girl with you!"

"Now Kevin, calm down," the Doctor said calmly, hoping he could reason with boy this time.

"Shut the fuck up man!" screamed Kevin, and he pointed the gun at them. "I'm gonna kill you all now! There's no way that girl's gonna take my - what the hell are you guys looking at?!"

The other were all staring fearfully at something behind him. "Er, Kevin, I think you should look behind yourself," said the Doctor.

"Do you think I'm stupid or something?" he shouted angrily, waving the gun around. "I'm not gonna fall for that!"

"You really should, human," growled a metallic voice from behind him.

His eyes widening in fear, Kevin swallowed and turned around to see one of the armoured monsters looming over him.

"Oh, no," Michael murmured, as they all took a step back. "I knew there was more than one of them!"

"That's the leader of the Mist Knights," whispered Rose fearfully.

"You were trying to harm the Successssor?" It roared at Kevin.

"But I'm a Successor too! Laura Cantrell was my great great grandmother!" Kevin shouted back at the creature despite his fear. "Take me instead of that -"

He never got to finish the sentence. The creature simply swatted him away without a word and he landed in a heap a few feet away, unmoving.

The thing then stalked towards the Doctor, Michael and Rose. "Give me the girl," it growled, reaching out an armoured claw towards Rose, who held onto her father tightly.

"Over my dead body!" shouted Michael as he drew his daughter closer.

"If need be," it snarled back.

"You're a Velialian, aren't you?" asked the Doctor suddenly, moving in front of the pair.

It stopped and cocked it's helmet covered head at him. "You have heard of my speciessss?" it asked.

"Yes, you Velialians have a reputation of being a nasty bunch of cruel sadists."

Ignoring the taut, it spoke again, "I am Witch Guard Captain Kalhazad of the Endless Pain of the Velial Empire, leader of the personal body guard of Our Lady of Nightmare, Meiidi of the Dark Dream."

"That's a bit of a mouthful isn't it? And I thought my lot had a penchant for long names!" The Doctor gave him a toothy grin. "Can't I just call you Fred? Or how about Dave?"

"Enough!" he roared. Kalhazad grabbed the Doctor's throat and almost immediately place the palm of his hand on his other arm onto the Time Lord's forehead. A split second later the Doctor collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"What… What did you do to him?" asked Michael, stunned

"HA!" Kalhazad barked, swinging his body around to look at him. "He is now reliving the most horrific experience in his life over and over again, which is what I'm now about to do make you do!"

Before Michael could react, the Velialian gently placed his palm onto the man's forehead. There was a bright flash, and everything went black…

***

Alice kissed Michael softly on the lips. "I'll see you tonight then, after I get home from work?" she asked, afterwards the kiss. "You can leave Rose around my sister's house for the night and we can celebrate our anniversary with a nice romantic dinner at home."

Michael smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?" he inquired, with a smile on his face.

"You can get those thoughts out of your head right now, young man!" she scolded playfully.

Michael laughed and sat back in his chair at one of the tables outside the café. "You know me too well, Alice!" He said, grinning now. "It's wonder you married someone like me!"

"Yeah, but you're cute, that's why!" Alice said, laughing herself, but then she stood up from her own chair. "My lunch break is over now, I have too get back to work. See you tonight, Michael," she said, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too, Alice, goodbye," Michael replied and he watched her as she went to cross the road.

He then saw the car coming down the street, much faster than the speed limit, but hadn't seen it and Michael knew it was going to hit her. He was on his feet in an instant, knocking the chair back, and shouted a warning. The driver of the car hit the brakes, but it was far too late and the car struck her, tossing her body into the air like a broken doll, hitting the road a few seconds later.

"NOOOO!!!" he screamed, rushing over to were Alice now lay, but he knew it was no good. She was dead. He knelt down by her body and started sobbing uncontrollably.

And this event happened again and again and again…

***

"Dad!" Rose said, kneeling beside her father's prone body, feeling totally helpless.

Meanwhile, Kalhazad looked around himself in satisfaction. Both the Time Lord and the human adult would be no further trouble. Now all that would remain would be to take the human child to his queen.

He turned to the girl. "You will come with me," he growled at her.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said bravely.

"Yes you are," he said. "I can practically taste your fear. Delicioussss…" He picked her up and placed her over his shoulder. She struggled, but it was no good, as he was far too strong.

"DADDY! HELP ME!" screamed Rose as she was carried off into the surrounding darkness, but Michael didn't react, as he was trapped within his own mind…

To be continued…


	4. Into the Lair of Evil

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Author's Note: Here's the fourth and final chapter, so now I can work on other projects I have lined up. I hope you enjoy the conclusion and please don't forget to review!

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Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC and is used without permission.

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Nightmare Syndrome

By Jack of the Pelt

****

Chapter Four

Into the Lair of Evil

"Dad!" Rose said, kneeling beside her father's prone body, feeling totally helpless.

Meanwhile, Kalhazad looked around himself in satisfaction. Both the Time Lord and the human adult would be no further trouble. Now all that would remain would be to take the human child to his queen.

He turned to the girl. "You will come with me," he growled at her.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said bravely.

"Yes you are," he said. "I can practically taste your fear. Delicioussss…" He picked her up and placed her over his shoulder. She struggled, but it was no good, as he was far too strong.

"DADDY! HELP ME!" screamed Rose as she was carried off into the surrounding darkness, but Michael didn't react, as he was trapped within his own mind…

***

A few moments later, when Kalhazad was a safe distance away, the Doctor opened one eye. Seeing that there was no one hostile was around, he climbed to his feet and dusted himself down. "Odd," he said to nobody in particular. "That should have rendered me insensible. Oh well, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth."

He looked around and saw that Michael was lying only a few feet away. He walked over to him and knelt down beside him. "Michael, it's time to wake up!" he said as he gently shook him. When he received no reply the Doctor shook him harder. Still nothing. This time the Doctor slapped him across the face, hard. "MICHAEL! Come on, this is no time for a nap!"

"Aaarrrggghh!" cried Michael as he sat bolt upright. He looked around, dazed. "Where… Where am I?" he asked.

"You're still in Highvale, Michael," replied the Doctor, helping him to his feet.

"Oh my god," Michael muttered despondently. "I-I saw my wife die. Over and over again… It was horrible!"

The Doctor patted him on the back. "Don't worry, it's over now." the Doctor said, trying to comfort him.

Michael looked at him sharply. "Hey," he said, "didn't that Kalhazad guy say he did the same thing to you what he did to me?"

The Doctor nodded slowly. "Yes he did," he agreed. "But I didn't see anything disturbing, I only heard that voice again, telling me to stay down until Kalhazad left."

"Who the hell is that voice anyway?" asked Michael.

The Doctor removed his hat and scratched his head. "Hmm, I really don't know," he admitted. "At first I thought it was your daughter, but it seems unlikely now…"

"Where is Rose anyway?" Michael said, suddenly realising his daughter wasn't here, feeling guilty that he hadn't noticed before. "Oh Christ! That monster's taken Rose with him! We've got to follow that thing! Did you see which way he went?!"

"Calm down, Michael," the Doctor told him, holding up a hand. "There's no reason to panic."

But his companion was beside himself. "That's easy for you to say," he almost screamed. "It's not your daughter that monster has!"

"No, but my friends are in danger," replied the Time Lord. "And that voice told me exactly were Kalhazad went."

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" Michael said. "Which way did he go?"

The Doctor pointed in a seemingly random direction and then started to walk that way, Michael close behind.

***

As the Time Lord and his friend went to follow the Velialian, neither of them saw the figure following them at a distance.

"There's no fucking way I'm gonna let that little bitch take my place!" snarled Kevin with venom. "I'll kill her first!"

***

A few minutes later they were by one of the vast chasm near the outskirts of town.

"Down _there_?" asked Michael, incredulous.

The confirmed this with a nod. "This is were the voice said to go."

"Doctor?" Michael said, staring down into the deep pit, trying to find a way down.

"Yes?" he replied.

"How did you know that the voice wasn't Rose?" he inquired.

"Oh, your daughter didn't sound anything like that voice," he explained. "Our mystery voice sounded much more mature, probably a female in her late teens or early twenties."

"Hey! Look over there!" cried Michael suddenly, pointing. "Isn't that some kind of stairway?"

The Doctor looked in the direction Michael indicated. "Yes, it is!" he said, he then hurried over and began to descend. After he had taken a few steps down he turned to his friend. "Well?" he asked. "Are you coming?"

Michael looked dubiously at the steps, which looked like they had been carved out of the side of the chasm. "Are you sure their safe?" he asked.

"Of course!" the Doctor said brightly. "How do you think the Velialians left their spaceship?"

"'_Their spaceship_?'" Michael said in disbelief. "Are you trying to tell me these guys are aliens?!"

"Certainly," the Doctor said, his face now deadly serious. "What else did you think they were?"

"Well…" he began, but trailed off, unsure of want to say. Now that he thought about it, the fact that these monsters were aliens made quite a lot of sense. "Okay, I'll take your word for it; you've been right about everything else so far," he finished, shrugging.

"Good, now come on, with don't have a second to spare." With that the Time Lord turned back and continued down the steps, Michael following once again.

***

A short while later they had reached the bottom of the chasm and found themselves in front of what looked like a large gunmetal green tentacle that stretched off into the distance in both directions. Disturbingly enough, it seem to be breathing, and Michael decided that this had to be the thing - or another one, Michael realised with a shudder - he saw moving at the bottom of the chasm they had seen earlier.

"they must have used these to block off the exits from town," the Doctor muttered while he examined the thing. "The Velialians must have wanted to keep everyone inside the town."

Michael didn't want to think about that. "So," he said, changing the subject. "How do we get inside?"

"Well, it's obvious that a doorway into the ship has to at this particular point, or how else would the Velialians get in and out?"

"Yeah, but where?" Michael replied, pointing at the strange surface in front of them. "I can't see any sort of door."

"Sometimes, my good Michael, things aren't as obvious as they seem," The Doctor said. He then stepped forward and then placed the palm of his hand against the surface of the craft, closing his eyes. A few moments later he stepped back and opened his eyes. "There, that should do it."

Michael was puzzled. "Done wha-"

All of a sudden an opening appeared in front of them. Michael looked at the Doctor with a confused expression. The Time Lord gave him a disarming grin.

"I simply asked nicely if the craft could let us in," the Doctor answered his companion's unasked question. "It must have liked my charming nature!"

"Is that what you call it?" Michael asked innocently.

"Hmph," remarked the Doctor as he walked inside the alien ship. Michael followed soon after, unable to keep a smile off his face.

However, neither of them noticed Kevin slip in behind them just before the opening closed.

***

The Doctor and Michael had walked for at least half an hour along a dark, dank corridor, with only the occasional green light to illuminate the passageway. "Why is this corridor so long?" complained Michael.

"It's because the Velialians use these arms to disembark from their ship," answered the Doctor. "They can extend for quite long way; practically from orbit."

"Isn't that a little impractical? I mean, it's a long way to walk."

"Oh, they're probably lowered down use a gravity suppressor."

Michael didn't want to be confused by techno babble, so he didn't bother to ask what one of those was. "Who are these Velalian guys anyway?" he asked instead, wanting to know a great deal. "What do they want with my little girl?"

"Well, they're a very nasty species from the planet Velial, which is very long way from here, incidentally, just about on the other side of the galaxy," the Doctor explained. "They're one of the most powerful psychic races in the universe, which is quite unfortunate."

"Why is that?"

"Because they are totally obsessed with fear, which is the reason why they've been trying to scare us to death. They're also surpposed to have been extinct for at least a thousand years. Hmm…"

"What's the matter?" Michael asked quickly, suddenly worried that the Doctor had something shocking to reveal.

"I've just realised that they must have had some influence on the people who settled here, that's why the lake we're under is called Velial."

"Wait a minute," Michael exclaimed. "We're _under_ the lake?" 

"Of course," the Doctor said, surprised that Michael hadn't realised this. "We have been walking quite along way. It must have crashed here centuries ago and the crew put themselves into stasis, emerging every so often to see if they could find a way of repairing this ship. As for what they want with your daughter; I'm not entirely sure, but I do have my suspicions."

"Great," Michael muttered to himself.

"Cheer up, Michael," said the Doctor cheerily. "It 's not that bad, at least we now she in here somewhere."

Michael didn't reply.

They continued walking and a few minutes later they had arrived at a T junction. "At last," Michael said, giving out a sigh of relief. "Which way do we go now?"

The Doctor almost immediately walked down the left junction. "We go this way," he said.

"Why this way?" asked Michael, running to catch him up.

The Doctor pointed a thumb back down the way they had come. "Those pictograms on the wall when we came out of that corridor said that this was the way to the control room."

"Why the hell are we going there?" his companion said, eyes wide. "Won't it be crawling with Velials?"

"Velialians," corrected the Doctor.

"Whatever!"

"I shouldn't think so; only a few of them would be awake to keep power usage at a minimum."

"Why doesn't that reassure me?" he replied, and then he noticed that the Doctor was gone. He turned around, panicking slightly, but he saw that his friend had stopped a few metre down the corridor, examining a pair of large double doors.

"What's that?" asked Michael, walking up to him.

The Doctor looked up at him and tapped a plaque beside the doors. Michael could see that it was covered in strange-looking symbols, which looked very familiar. "This sign reads: 'STASIS CAGES'," he answered. "I think I'll go and have a look and see what we're up against." He then placed his arm against the door and closed his eyes, repeating the same process he had done earlier. As with before it slid open and the Doctor quickly walked inside.

"Hey! Wait!" cried Michael, hurrying in after him, the door sliding shut behind him.

***

"Oh dear," muttered the Doctor, looking around himself in a mixture of awe and horror.

"I think that's putting it lightly," Michael said, even more terrified. "I think holy fucking shit would be more appropriate."

"Quite," murmured the Doctor, more interested by what was surrounding them.

They were now standing on a raised walkway in a vast room with no visible top bottom or sides. What little light there was showed them that the room contained thousands upon thousands of strangely glowing metal cages, just large enough to accommodate a standing man, and inside each one was a strange creature wearing what look a loose fitting black boiler suit. They looked almost human, but their arms were far too long, their skin was a purple-green and they had no visible nose or any hair on their heads. _This must be what the Velialians look like without their armour_, thought Michael as he stared at the occupant of one of the nearer cages, _it's a good job they all seem to be asleep. For the moment, anyway_.

"I've just had a horrible thought," said the Doctor suddenly.

"What's that?" asked Michael, still gazing around at the cages above him.

"All those creatures we saw in Highvale were most likely the people that used to live there."

Michael managed to tear his gaze away from the unnerving sight all around him and looked at the Doctor sharply. "How the hell did they do that?"

"Oh, most probably some kind of a short ranged but powerful psychic wave," the Doctor explained casually. "It must have changed them almost instantaneously."

Michael shuddered, but looked to see if there was anything of interest of elsewhere to take his mind off what the Doctor had just said - and spotted a familiar face inside one of the cages. He walked up to it to get a closer look. "Hey, Doctor!" shouted Michael, calling him over. "I think your friend Harry is in here! And Sarah is inside this one!"

The Doctor hurried over and saw his two friends inside the cages. "Quick, we have to get them down!" the Doctor said, worried.

"How?" asked Michael as the Time Lord looked around desperately for something to lower the cages.

"There'll be a control device or three somewhere along this walkway," replied the Doctor.

Glancing around, Michael caught sight of a small metal box attached to one of the railings next to each side of the walkway. He pointed at it and called the Doctor. "What about this?" he asked. "Is this it?"

The Doctor hurried over and examined the device. "Yes," he murmured to himself. "This must be psychically controlled as well…"

Once again he placed his hand on the device and closed his eyes. A few seconds later there was a click followed by a metallic hum as one of the cages - Sarah's - moved over the walkway and was lowered down. Michael hurried over to Sarah's cage and open it, which strangely was only closed by a simple looking latch. As soon as he did so, however, the cage stopped glowing and Sarah eyes snapped open.

"Where - where am I?" the girl said weakly, stumbling into Michael arms.

"Hey, its alright now," said Michael, steadying her. "Me and the Doctor are here, you're safe."

Sarah blinked a few times, and then a horrified expression appeared on her face. "Oh no," she gasped, "Harry! He's dead!"

The Doctor had already lowered Harry's cage and was helping him out. "Harry's right here, Sarah," the Doctor grinned. "Say hello, Harry!"

"Doctor, old chap, is that you?" asked Harry, as dizzy as Sarah was when she had left her cage. "You know I've just had the most damnable dream -"

"Harry?" asked Sarah, shocked to see her friend. "You're alive? B-But I saw your body, you were dead!"

"I think I can explain," announced the Doctor. "Harry's dead body was simply an hallucination."

"A hallucination?" echoed Sarah.

"Yes, a hallucination caused by an alien species, whose ship we are all on board now."

"Oh, great, out of the frying pan into the fire!" complained Sarah, just about back to her old self. She turned to her other friend. "Well, at any rate, I'm glad your alright, Harry."

"You too, old bird," said Harry. A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "You know Sarah, I only walked a few feet down that alleyway before everything went black. I must of passed out." He then turned to Michael. "Did you find your daughter, Michael?"

Michael nodded forlornly. "Yeah, but then these monsters took her away."

"I'm sorry," said Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had strode over to the door. "Come on, we've got no time to lose," said the Doctor. "I'll fill you in on the way. Come along you three."

Michael looked at Sarah and Harry and shrugged. "How do you keep up with this guy?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I have no idea," she said as all three of them went to follow the Doctor out of the large room.

***

After walking up the corridor for a short while, the Doctor explaining what had happened to him and Michael as they went, they reached a large chamber with an even bigger set of double doors than the ones leading into the Stasis Cage room. Both doors had what looked like a fanged maw consuming a planet within an eight pointed star branded on it's surface.

"The emblem of the Velialian Empire," explained the Doctor. "Did you know that their maxim is 'Fear Is Our Ally'?"

"That's all very well, Doctor," asked Sarah, trying to suppress a shudder. "But how do we get though these doors?"

"It's quite simple really, replied the Doctor, grinning. "All I have to do is -" He went to place his hand on one of the doors, but jumped back when the doors started to slide open with a very loud grinding noise. "Oh, it looks like I don't have to do that anyway," he said, looking a little disappointed.

"_Welcome, Time Lord,_" hissed a voice filled with malice as they walked though the doors. "_I have been expecting you._"

They were now in a vast room, not big as the cage room, but big none the less. There banks of what looked control panels, multi-coloured lights flickering on them, display screens with what looked like some kind of writing scrolling across them. But what really caught the four companions attention was the large glass cylinder in the centre of the room, filled with some kind of bubbling green fluid. Pipes and cables ran from the roof of the chamber and entered the top of the container, snaking down to a wizened figure floating in the liquid, It's red eyes glowed balefully at them.

"Good evening," greeted the Doctor calmly. "Meiidi of the Dark Dream, I presume? Or should I say Anna Cantrell?"

"_Oh, very good, Doctor,_" replied the creature in the cylinder. "_How did you know?_"

The Doctor shrugged in response. "It was just a very good guess," he said modestly. "But why else would you have wanted that girl's body for?"

But Sarah was slightly puzzled. She learnt over towards her friend. "What do you mean, Doctor?" she whispered to him.

"_He means,_ _child,_" Meiidi hissed, "_that this body used to belong to a girl that my followers found over a century ago._"

"That's horrible!" gasped Sarah.

"_It is, isn't?_" the alien leader hissed with glee. "_It took my some time to master this inferior body, but now I have complete control of it._"

"I really don't think that's the case, Meiidi," challenged the Doctor. "Who do you think has been helping me and Michael while we were in Highvale? That's why you want Michael daughter for, isn't it? The genetic implant your followers placed in her ancestor, Laura Cantrell, has developed to a point that she will become a perfect host for your mind, am I right?"

"_Very clever, Time Lord,_" Meiidi growled scathingly. "_But the Successor isn't the only prize I have received, Behold!_" The alien waved a hand. There was a bright flash and now standing beside her container was a tall blue box.

"The TARDIS!" exclaimed Harry.

"_You shouldn't leave your time/space machine laying around like that, Doctor,_" mocked Meiidi. "_You never now who might find them._"

Michael had finally gotten over his horror at his surroundings and stepped forward defiantly. "Where's my Daughter?!" he demanded.

"_Oh, very well,_" Meiidi sighed. "_Kalhazad! Bring the girl!_"

There was another grinding noise and Kalhazad stepped though into the chamber, a struggling Rose under one arm. Her eyes fell upon her father, and face lit up. "Dad!" she cried. "You've come to rescue me!"

"Rose!" Michael cried happily, but then he turned to the Drowned Queen, anger in his eyes. "Let her go, you monster!"

"_Or you'll do what, human?_" Meiidi asked, amused. "_Slap my wrists?_"

Before Michael could reply, Kevin rushed into the room and pushed the others out of his way, while his gun was pointing towards Medii. "I'M THE SUCESSOR! NOT HER!" he screamed before firing several gunshot, and the front of Meiidi's cylinder shattered. Meiidi emitted a an ear piecing scream as the green fluid spilled over the floor.

Kalhazad reacted almost instantly. "MY QUEEN!!!" he roared angrily. He let go of Rose, who fell to the floor but quickly recovered and hurried into her father's arms, while rushed over towards Kevin, the spear he had threatened the Doctor and Michael with was now in his hands. Before Kevin could react, he was skewered though the stomach and lifted into the air, blood now steaming down the weapon. "DIE, VERMIN!!!" Kalhazad snarled.

But with his last ounce of strength Kevin lifted his gun and pointed it at the glass visor on the Velialian's helmet, and pulled the trigger. At a distance, the shot would have probably have glanced off, but at this range it broke tough the glass and blew Kalhazad's head apart inside his helmet, killing the alien instantly. He collapsed into a heap, both the Velailian and the human now dead.

The Doctor quickly took advantage of the situation. "Quick! Everybody into the TARDIS!" he said as he gave Sarah the key to his craft. "Open the door Sarah!"

"What about you, Doctor?!" she asked him.

"Yeah, aren't you coming?" Michael added, holding onto his daughter.

"I'll be with you shortly!" he told them, pushing them both towards the TARDIS. "I have a few lose ends to deal with!"

"How are we suppose to all fit in there?" asked Michael, incredulous.

"You'd be surprised, old chap," Harry told him.

When they were all safely inside the Doctor examined the room and rubbed his hands together. "Now, I'll have to find the self-destruct system," he murmured to himself. "Where to start…"

"_Doctor…_" hissed a weak voice.

The Doctor looked up, alarmed. "Oh, no," he muttered. He span around to face the Drowning Queen in the shattered glass tank. "Meiidi! You're still alive!"

"_No, I'm not that evil witch,_" hissed Meiidi's voice, but somehow it sounded different. "_My name is Anna Cantrell._"

"Anna?" asked the Doctor, surprised. "You're the dominant consciousness now?"

"_Yes. Meiidi is weakened,_" Anna Cantrell explained. "_I am now able to access the ships systems."_

"Which means you've -"

"_Which means I have set the ship to self-destruct! Go Doctor!" _cried the part of the Drowned Queen that was still Anna Cantrell "_GO NOW!_"

The Doctor nodded and hurried over to the TARDIS. He was just about to enter when he turned back to the cylinder. "Thank you, Anna," he said, "thank you for your help, and goodbye!" He then opened the door to his time machine and closed it behind him. A moment later it faded away into the time vortex.

"_Goodbye, Doctor,_" murmured Anna, "_and thank you for _your_ help…_"

***

Outside, all was calm. The mist had dispersed and the sun had risen. There was no noise save for birdsong and the rustle of the wind thought the trees.

And then the whole surface of the lake exploded, shattering the near silence, water flying in all directions as the Velialian ship destroyed itself.

A few minutes later, everything was back to how it had been a short while ago, the lake undisturbed once again.

***

Once again the TARDIS materialised on the very same spot just outside Highvale and the three time travellers were now saying their farewells to Michael and Rose.

"Goodbye Doctor, Sarah, Harry," said Michael. "Thank you for helping me find Rose."

"Cheerio, old chap," said Harry, shaking Michael's hand. "Nice to have met you."

"See you soon!" said Sarah, waving, as she and Harry walked into the TARDIS.

Once they were inside, the Doctor spoke to Michael. "You shouldn't have anything to worry about from the Velialians," he said to him. "They're all dead now…"

"You make it sound like it was a shame they're extinct," remarked Michael, surprised.

"In a way it was. All that psychic potential, wasted on warfare," the Doctor said sadly. But then his expression changed, and now he was grinning. "Well, I hope we meet again in much more pleasant circumstances, Michael," 

"I hope so too!" Michael laughed.

Sarah's head poked from behind the door. "Come on, Doctor, Hurry up!" she scolded. "We've have to get to Loch Ness!"

The Doctor turned to her. "Coming, Sarah! Coming!" he said, and turned back to Michael and Rose. "Goodbye," he said simply, before turning around and head for his time machine.

"Bye Doctor!" the two of them cried, waving. "Bye, Doctor thank you for helping my dad!" added Rose.

The Doctor waved over his shoulder and then disappeared into the TARDIS. Michael and his daughter both watched as the blue box vanished from sight, the only evidence of it actually existing was the depression on the grass where it had once been only a short while ago.

"Do you think we'll ever see them again, dad?" asked Rose a moment or two later.

"I really don't know, Rose," her father replied. "Nothing is ever certain, after all."

Rose looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I'm certain of one thing, dad," she said.

"What's that then?" Michael asked curiously.

"I don't think I'm going to have nightmares anymore," she replied, smiling up at her father, who smiled back.


End file.
